Wirebound container



Aug. 1, 1933. L. M. HILE WIREBOUND CONTAINER Filed July 14, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet l alga.

Aug 1; ELfiEBE. L. M. HILE 9 5 WIREBOUND CONTAINER Filed July 14, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 1, 1933 L. M. HILE WIREBOUND CONTAINER Filed July 14, 1930 k a, v m V a Patented Aug. 1 1933 v UNITED STATES PA NT,

OFFICE 1,920,560 WIREBOUND CONTAINER Leslie M. Hile, Benton Harbor, Mich. Application July 14, 1930. Serial No. 467,927

2 Claims. (01. 217-122) 1 This invention relates to wirebound containers, and. more particularly to baskets, or containers which can be used as such.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction whereby a wirebound basket is provided, such as a bushel or half-bushel basket.

A special object is to provide an improved construction and arrangement whereby a wirebound basket of this kind is made from a fold.- able wirebound box blank, or a blank similar to those for making wirebound boxes, but of such shape and character that, when folded, it produces a downwardly tapered basket or container.

It is also an object to provide certaindetails, and features of construction and combinationstending to increase the general efficiency and the desirability of a basket or container of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanyin drawings, in which r Fig. 1 is a perspective of a wirebound ,con-

tainer capable of use as a basket, as a substitute for an ordinary round bushel or a half-bushel basket, involving the principles of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through a plurality of said containers, showing how .the empty baskets are nested together for shipment to. the

users;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, show.- ing the ends of the cleats that interlock at the corners of the container;

Fig. 4-. is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the basket in process of formation or construction;

Fig. 5 is a plan view, more or less diagrammatic in character, on a smaller scale, showing the blank from whichthe said basket is made;

Fig.6 is a View similar to Fig. 1, showing a different form of the invention;

Fig. '7 is a vertical section, on a smaller scale,

interlockat the corners of the basket, as shown in the drawings. 5

An outside binding wire '7 is secured around the cleats 3, andthe ends of this wire are twisted together .at one'corner of the basket. Middle and lower binding wires 8 and 9 are secured around the basket, as shown, directly to the veneer or. other material from which the side Walls are made, and the opposite ends of each wire are twisted together at one corner of the basket.

The bottom wall 2 may be secured bystaples, not shown, to the tops of the cleats 4, or this bottom wall may be unfastened and simply inserted downwardly in the basket to rest removably upon the tops of thecleats. Whether the bottom is fastened in, or left loose, would depend upon the circumstances and particular use desired for the basket.

As shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the side walls of the baskets are made from a blank which,

when unfolded and in flat condition, is of the shape shown. It will be seen that the upper cleats 3 are longer than the lower cleats 4 and hence that the blank form is, in effect, curved about an axis. However, when the blank is folded in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, it develops into a square or rectangular basket, so called, because the top of the basket is square or rectangular, and the bottom thereof is square ,or rectangular.

It is obvious, of course, that a square or rectangular basket is more efficientin some waysfthan a round basket, inasmuch as they can be placed closer together in a box car,

, or other place, for shipment or for storage. The

only lost space, with a square or rectangular basket, is what would occur between the sides of the adjacent baskets, but this space is much less than what occurs when round baskets are placed side by side and ontop of each other. The basket shown and described is flat bottomed, and hence baskets of this kind, when loaded, can be stacked one on top of the other. Although the baskets are square or rectangular, they can be nested together as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, when empty, for shipment or storage.

If desired, handles 10 can be applied to the opposite sides of the top of the basket, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings.

- If the bottom 2 is left loose, the basket can be shipped in the fiat and set up in basket form by the user.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the construction is. similar tothat previously shown and described,

but in this case the sides are made up of a plurality of staves or slats 11, as shown, instead of from one-piece walls, as shown in the other figures of the drawings.

As shown in the drawings, staples 12 are employed for securing the binding wire '7 to the cleats 3; staples 13 are employed for securing the binding wire 8 to the sheets or Walls; and staples 14 are employed for securing the bindingwire 9 to the sheets and the cleats 4, previously described. The same arrangement ofwires and staples, will be seen, is employed in Fig. 6 and Fig. '7 of the drawings. It will be understood, of course, that these staples are driven through the materials, crosswise of the wires, and that the points of the staples are clinched on the inner sides of the basket. But the construction shownand described is illustrative of the invention, and the cleats and other parts may have any suitable form or construction, without departing from the spirit of the invention. V

It will be seen that theupper cleats 3 extend beyond the edges of the side walls, at bothends of each cleat, and that these cleats interlock, thereby in effect forming a continuous and substantially rigid frame around the outside of the top of the basket. tained by using a blank of thekind shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, where it will be seen that the cleats 3 extend beyond the edges of the sections 1, at both ends of each cleat, and that the whereby a very strong construction is provided,

the binding wire 7 being tensioned around the corners of the rectangular frame formed by the cleats 3, so that the basket is quite rigid and is:

adapted to be loaded and shipped in the manner of ordinary bushel or half-bushelbaskets, one on top of another. 1

Thus, it will be seen that the invention contemplates apreliminary blank having the side wall sections thereof tapered toward the bottom edge of the blank and having tapered spaces between thesesections, also tapered toward the bottom edge of the blank, whereby the adjacent edges of the sections diverge toward the upper edge of the blank. Notwithstanding the comparatively wide spaces thus provided between the side wall sections, at the upper edge of the blank, no slack is formed in the upper binding wire at the cornersof the container, when the blank is folded. Notwithstanding that the edges of the side wall sections are caused to become parallel,

andpreferably overlapping, in the finished con tainer, it is nevertheless true that the upper binds ing wire '7 does not have any slack therein, at the cornersjof the container, for the reason that the cleats 3 form intervening means between the upper binding wire and the sidewall sections,

This, it will be seen, is ob-- serving to draw the sections toward each other, and serving also to tension the upper binding wire "7 around the corners of the container. These be made from a fiat blank.

What I claim as my invention is:

- 1.1A 'wirebound blank for use in making a downwardly tapering container of polygonal cross-section, comprising a plurality of flat side wall sections, each of which is tapered toward [the bottom of the blank, said sections being arranged in contiguous relation with the wider portions of adjacent sections spaced to a greater extent than the narrower portions thereof, whereby the sections are arranged in a substantially arcuate formation, cleats, one secured to the upper wider portion of each section against that face which is outer in the finished container, and

another secured to the lower narrower portion of each section against that face which is inner inthe finished container, top and bottom binding wires flexibly securing the sections together,

saidbottom wire being secured to the outer faces of the sections, and said upper wire being secured to the outer faces of the cleats, whereby the cleats serve to tension the top wire and bring the wider portions ofv adjacent sections toward each other when the blank is folded, to form a container capable of being nested.

2. A vwireloound blank for use in making a downwardly tapering container cross-section, comprising a plurality of flat side wall sections, each of which is tapered toward the bottom of the blank, said sections being arranged in contiguous relation with the wider portions of adjacent sections spaced to a greater extent than the narrower portions thereof. whereby the scctions'are arranged in a substantially arcu'ate formation, cleats, one secured to the upper wider portion of each section against thatfacewhich is outer in the finished container, theends of adjacent cleats being tongue and grooved for interlocking engagement in the finished container, and another secured to the lower narrower portion of each section against that face which is inner in the finished container, top and bottom and intermediate binding Wires flexibly securing the sections together, said bottom wire beingsecured to the outer faces of the se tions, and said upperwire being secured to the outer faces of the cleats, whereby the cleats serve to tension the top wire and bring the, wider portions of adjacent sections toward each other when the blank, isfolded, to forma container capable of being nested.

LESLIE M. HILE.

of polygonal 

